caïdat de Amerzgane, Morocco - Polarsteps

We made coffee with our camp stove on the roof of the maison d'hotes in the morning, and Kini went out and found us some loaves of bread and a package of cream cheese. We all loaded up outside and tried to find Mohamed to say goodbye-- we were told that he was down the road selling carpets in the kasbah, and later learned that he also works as a guide to the kasbah, on top of running his restaurant, which he's also renovating into a hotel; he's essentially running the village of Telouet. The historic kasbah is one of the largest in Morocco, and we went in, left our bikes with a shop owner, and spent some time touring around-- the outsides of the walls and buildings are a traditional mud-and-straw construction, but inside is all intricate tilework and detailed, delicate Islamic architecture. The day took us on a winding road above a gorge speckled with small villages, and a rocky, dry landscape with a strip of green following the river at the bottom. Kids were out in abundance, and ran up to us for high-fives on our way through each town. We went as far as a campground in Ait Benhaddou (more camping and dinner price negotiations, thank you Kevin). Dinner at our touristy campground restaurant was what we ended up dubbing the McTagine, chicken and green olives topped with a pile of french fries-- we're still unsure if it was a) serious, b) what they figured Western tourists would want, or c) a "fuck you" for talking the price down.